"I realized that tea does not even have taste
but rather just an effect like the wind"
James Norwood Pratt

Let Freedom Ring - (in the heart of the Home) by Carolyn Jayne

This may not seem like a patriotic piece but read on -

I've been thinking a lot about "Home" lately. Sitting at my manicure place (that's another story of necessary indulgences for another time)
I lost count of all the references everyone around me made about
Home. Think about it - our homes truly are the sacred containers of our physical beings. We literally rest our weary minds and bodies in our beds, in our homes. But What if we had no home?

The word Home evokes so many sensations and smells and images and memories for me. Warmth, light, comfort, peace and beauty all mean home to me. I am very blessed and grateful to have grown-up in beautiful homes - clean, attractive, quiet and soulful. My favorite home was a gorgeous house on Bayview Avenue. My brother and sister had gone away to College so I was queen of the upstairs (my
parents bedroom was downstairs). But the best part of this house was the lush yard that framed her. Magical trees of various sorts shaded the grass, and unbeknownst to me (until recently) those trees nurtured and protected me. Sitting in that yard I knew I was Home.

Yes, to most of us home is much more than merely shelter. It is our space often reflecting our inner transformations, triumphs and struggles. But I've learned lately (on the heels of needing to move out of my cozy apartment - eviction is not a warm and fuzzy word) that naïve attitudes towards Home always assumed that the actual walls, windows and doors were a given. I've always thought in terms of choice, improvement, Feng-Shui - design - not - "Where will my son and I sleep tonight" And that horrific thought sobers me now to world realities.

An ocean away thousands of people have no homes, no yards, no sacred place. Even in our freedom-loving country families struggle To find a home - to afford a home. How can this be? Maybe as much As our Stars and stripes represent Freedom so should a home. Having a home (more than merely shelter) is an indication of an advanced culture. Having a home should be an inalienable right along with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - for how can we pursue happiness without a spot to hang our hats?

As a relatively young American woman in the 21st Century I appreciate the struggles of my sisters who only 100 years ago fought for our right to be full fledged democratic citizens and to own property regardless of our marital status. Young girls today often take their economic freedom for granted but even today home ownership for single mother's can be tricky business. Heck, home-ownership for the all american heterosexual married couple is tricky business.

I don't own a home. In fact I've always liven in someone else's space. Sure, I made it my own but ultimately it was their's, (husbands included) not mine. While writing this article it dawned on me why my mom has always loved Scarlett Ohara. Scarlett was ultimately beholden to no one. Regardless of her romantic immaturity and drama. Tara was her focus - her literal and cosmic grounding. Scarlett understood the power, responsibility and indeed Freedom of Land ownership.

This summer I am on a quest to find my home. A home to call my own. I trust it will be perfect for me and my son. I will pour into her - this sacred spot of mine - my soul through my belongings and art. Today I realize that my journey to claim my home (in a very small but perhaps significant way), increases the power and hope of true freedom in our ever-evolving Democracy.